In Over Your Head
by TheDiiva
Summary: Simple mistakes rarely lead to simple problems. Something Vlad become acutely aware of.
1. Prolouge

AN: Ahhhh I'm so happy to start this project! This idea (like a few others) came from the chat of Phantomtype's stream. The idea sprang up somehow and Pokeshadow and I just drove it right off a cliff. Also, my first story that isn't angst, its a miracle!

Phanniemay15 Theme: Alternate Universe

 **In Over Your Head**

 **prolouge**

-o-oOo-o-

 _"I never make stupid mistakes. Only very, very clever ones." -John Peel_

-o-oOo-o-

Albert Einstein said, 'Insanity is repeating the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result."

Vlad supposed that that was true, given the present circumstances.

"Status?"

Screens flickered alive. Jumbles of numbers ran across some of them, status bars on others. The gentle whirring of the machine filled the room. Vlad took no notice, just as he hadn't taken notice of how off the rail he'd fallen. Daniel had nearly pushed him past the point of no return a couple of meetings back. He was so close to just grabbing the stupid boy and breaking his neck, to blast that insufferable girl until she melted into ectoplasm he could reuse for a more identical child. He hadn't gotten the chance. A boomerang and a seventeen ton spectral plane exploration ship ensured that. Daniel had used a power he never encountered before—an _impossibly_ powerful one. A scream so loud and so forceful it had absolutely wrecked his Colorado lab. Perhaps Daniel had been counting on that, to try to stop him from making more clones.

Daniel was foolish in that regard. He was using his Rockies estate because it was _isolated,_ not because it was his best lab for cloning. And now that he lived in Amity Park, his Wisconsin home was the best option for continuing his attempts.

"Project ALPHA-Negative 20734/betatest^AEDNAP3 is stable. Status: awaiting activation," The computers emotionless voice informed. It wasn't Maddie's. He'd not yet transferred the hologram program over to his prime house. It was a little depressing, but he'd deal.

A mess of data flooded the screens. From results of tests to current biological measurements and past records. His eyes scanned over it all. Project Alpha was the new prime clone. It was as close to Daniel he was able to get with the strained genetic resources. He floated in the stasis chamber, white hair twisting in the amorphous liquid. There were others, of coarse. It always took work to get to a prime. But this time he wasn't being stupid. He wasn't waking them up. Doing so was what cost him the mid-morph sample last time. Speaking of...

"Alphatest^AEDNAP3 final results?" He inquired.

"Scanning..." The computer droned. The data vanished, replaced with a report. Several grainy images of a triple helix molecule dotted the other screens. Vlad ignored them, "All nucleotides of lateral line successfully replicated. All dihydrogenous bases bonded. Final result: functional artificial mid-morph synthesizer attempt is successful."

Vlad smirked. Music to his ears.

He wasn't being stupid in _two_ ways this time around. One, as already said, the other clones were still in stasis. Two, he wasn't getting Daniel involved. The boy ruined things.

But his problem had remained: he needed mid-morph DNA. The answer to his problem had come to him during a long night of staring at past notes on his Halfa genetic research. He hadn't made much progress, review pages he'd reviewed hundreds of times, until he noticed a tiny little detail he hadn't before. A tiny, funny little thing that made all the difference.

Loose hydrogen bases, poking off the nucleotides. Loose bases that should attach to the morph DNA he was missing.

The solution was so god damned _**simple**_ , he should've kicked himself for not seeing it before.

Where there were hydrogen bases, there was the ability to make the missing strand. It was the very _nature_ of DNA. The molecule _itself_ replicated in that way.

The bases were the reason it was so simple. Adenine could only bind to Thymine. Cytosine to Guanine. Simple, primal. Less so with Halfas. Myknine, Ectnine, Specnine, and Ghasnine were added to the jumble. Myknine only bonded with Adenine, Ectnine to Thymine, Specnine to Cytosine, Ghasine to Guanine. Less simple than human DNA, but not so complex as to be overly problematic. The lateral line, the third that made halfa DNA a triple helix, could only have those four spectral bases.

It was so _stupidly_ _**simple**_.

Because the way these bases bonded were so strict, if you had just one side to work with, you could easily fill in the second side. DNA Polymerase 3 did that for normal DNA. Alphatest^AEDNAP3 would do that to synthesize the mid-morph DNA he was missing.

No frustrating teenager problems necessary, _thank you very much._

"Disconnect subjects BETA to KAPPA. Focus on ALPHA," Vlad ordered.

Beta to kappa were the imperfect clones. Sure, they all _looked_ like Daniel, for the most part, but they each had things off about them. Inability to form legs from their ghostly tail, more than two eyes, unresponsive arm, dysfunctional core—little minor and major things. He did feel slightly guilty about the fact that he'd have to dispose of them once the Alpha was complete.

"Disconnection in progress..." The lab rumbled, mechanics hidden behind the steel enforced walls shifting. The computer's humming turned into a hiss as the fan kicked in higher, but it died down after a few moments, "...Successful. ALPHA is awaiting activation. Awaiting further instructions."

Vlad tore his eyes away from the screens, and he walked up to the stasis chamber. His heart tightened, as he remembered how the previous prime clone had melted right in front of him. If things went wrong, that could be the same fate of this one. He didn't think he could bear to watch that twice. He hardened his jaw, squaring his shoulders.

"...Activate," He'd never get his son if he never took the risk.

The computer purred, "Activation of Project ALPHA-Negative 20734/betatest^AEDNAP3 in progress."

Vlad forced his breath out through his nose, his throat uncomfortably tight. The Alpha's face was calm, his eyes twitching under his eyelids. He was Daniel, from the shape of his cheeks to the muscles of his arms just barely starting to show. The ugly tubing and wires branched from his body, glinting in the fluorescent lights of the lab. They were the only things keeping him alive. Vlad reveled in the thought of being able to call him Daniel, to call him _son_. To be able to hug him, to teach him, to be a good father. It was the only thing keeping him sane at this point.

Bangs rattled through the air system of the lab, metal slicing on metal. The entire lab seemed to shake and Vlad gripped the stasis chamber in fear—though if it did topple somehow, his grip would go little to prevent it. It remained unaffected by the noises.

Vlad stormed his way back to the computer, "What in the hell was _that_?!"

It beeped loudly, blaring red warnings flashing on its screens, " **ERROR**! System compromised! Attempting to stabilize—Recalibrating...Activation restarted," Vlad gripped the sides of the computers controls tightly, his knuckles white. Don't it _**dare**_. It had better not cleanse it's systems. That would kill everything in all the stasis chambers. He'd loose everything.

The beeping stopped, and everything was quiet. Then, "Activation in progress: 6% completed."

Vlad let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd held. His head dropped, tangled matted ponytail tickling his neck. He pushed himself straight heavily, running the back of his hand over his brow. He didn't know how much more his frayed nerves could take. He returned to the Alpha's side, exhaust clear in the way he moved.

"Soon, my son..." Vlad laid his fingertips on the cold glass. His forehead fallowed, and he closed his eyes, listening to the faint hums around him.

"Status: 10%," The computer purred.

It was the last thing Vlad knew before he drifted unconscious.

* * *

Vlad groaned, the cold glass against his cheek hard and unpleasant. He peeled him skin off the container, picking the gunk of sleep from his eyes. He checked his watch. It was just after 1:30 AM when he last remembered checking the time, and now it was 10:47 AM. He felt more rested, but his body ached from spending so much time on the hard floor, his arms stiff from being bent against his chest. He stretched, and his bones popped. He never seemed to learn his lesson about bad sleeping places.

"Computer, analysis?" He questioned, speech slurred seep. The computer's humming got louder as it woke up too.

"Status: 68%,"

Vlad's head snapped up. That wasn't right. That was ten hours, how wasn't it done already? It was just a little over half way. Vlad pushed himself to his feet, his hands curling into fists.

"Why's it taking so long?!" He barked.

The computer remained apathetic, "Distribution of resources," Vlad snarled, but stomped out of the room anyway. He needed a shower, a long one.

"Fine, alert me when it's nearly complete."

The computer said nothing, and continued to do so throughout Vlad's hour-long shower. He buried himself in his paperwork, trying to distract himself from all the thoughts about what might be going wrong. He didn't dare cancel the activation. Doing so might render just part of the body stabilized, and releasing him in that state would be almost as bad as releasing him unstabilized. Hours passed, and the only thing that changed was Maddie jumping onto his desk and laying down. As dinner rolled around, Vlad returned to the lab, Maddie trotting after him. There, he just sat on a couch and waited, combing his fingers through the felines fur.

Finally, the computer beeped pleasantly.

"Activation complete," The computer announced. Vlad threw himself off the couch, staggering over the main console. Maddie hissed, not appreciating being dropped so unceremoniously.

"Analysis?!"

"Scanning subjects..." It paused, and Vlad waited with baited breath, "No errors detected. Triple helix is stable."

Hope settled into him in the form of a lump in his throat. He ran the scans three more times, just to make sure. Nothing was detected being off. He ordered various other tests, but a little voice in the back of his head just told him he was being paranoid, that they were unnecessary. He ignored it; his paranoia had saved him before. Finally, Vlad inhaled.

"Release him...release my son," He breathed.

The computer complied.

The liquid was drained, agonizingly slowly. Hair and white spandex that were colored lavender became pristine white. Pressurized locks hissed as they released, the rolling tumble of mechanical fastens clicking open. The entire domed from of the chamber popped outward, then raised on thick mechanical arms. Air touched the clone for the first time, and the effect was instant. Lungs expanded and he breathed as the instinct kicked in. The slick stasis material dripped from his skin, his hair still drenched. His eyelids twitched, then raised. Vibrant emerald eyes, exactly the same as Daniels. His eyes flickered around as they looked around. They finally settled on Vlad, and the elder halfa knew that all the pain and frustration had been worth it all.

Multiple hisses sounded from behind Vlad, and he spun around. Metal clinked as tumble locks turned. The domes of every single other chamber jolted, then raised. Vlad could only stare. Consecutive metallic clinks rolled throughout the lab, and nine clones tumbled from their chambers, becoming entangled in their wires. Vlad heard the clinks from behind him and he threw his arms out, catching the alpha as he fell. The teen was cold and wet in his arms, the wires still attached to him jabbing into his skin.

"Unlocking stasis chambers...Complete," The computer sang.

Vlad stared at the mess of Daniels before him, waiting, terrified, for them to start melting.

They didn't.

They just pushed themselves up, occasionally picking coiled wires off themselves with pinched fingers. The alpha attempted to get his legs under himself, to control his own weight, but failed. Vlad knew he was much too weak to do that just yet.

Vlad cleared his throat, unnerved when ten sets of eyes focused on him, "What..." his eyes shifted to the panel, "Computer, last processes list."

The computer whirred, "Stasis chambers release. Subject Stabilization. Error Repair-"

"Details about stabilization," Vlad commanded, but a sinking feeling in his gut let him know that he thought he already knew the answer.

"Subjects ALPHA to KAPPA activated. Time taken: eighteen hours, fourteen minutes."

Vlad blinked, the feeling telling him 'I told you so'. All ten had been stabilized with Alphatest^AEDNAP3, all ten had the mid-morph. They were all halfas, all stable, and all Daniel. He looked back to the clones, meeting their unsure and inquisitive stares.

"Oh... _ **crumb cakes**_..."


	2. Danny Party

Phanniemay15 Theme: Alternate Universe

 **In Over Your Head**

 **Chapter 1: Danny Party**

-o-oOo-o-

 _"If you tell me not to do something, you can bet your ass I'm gonna go it. And stare at you the entire time." -Mreo, OC_

-o-oOo-o-

There were very few things Danny _hadn't_ seen out on patrol.

He'd seen ghosts kissing other ghosts, ghosts _eating_ other ghosts (sometimes after they just got _done_ kissing, much to his distress), humans whacking ghosts over the head with news papers, ghosts stealing baby socks, Vlad's vultures randomly flying in circles at midnight every third Tuesday of every month, and a weird pink substance that dripped upside down from several roofs every other week. From ghost cats walking upside down in the air to cars being displaced to balconies.

To put it bluntly, Danny's _**seen**_ some shit.

But never, and he meant _never_ , had he ever seen some so strange as he did tonight.

And that was the lights of Vlad's Master's mansion being turned on and off and loud pop music blaring so loud Danny could hear it several hundred feet into the air.

"He's prolly wasting his electricity on some crazy experiment of his..." He muttered, and dove towards the building. He kinda wished he had some Fenton earplugs, but alas, he did not.

He half expected a ghost shield to surround the building, but it didn't. He was able to swoop right down into the house, where he stumbled around in the flickering lights. He didn't know the way out of Vlad's mansion very well, not as well as his Wisconsin home, so he didn't have any idea where he was even going. He fallowed the music, however, as it got slightly louder the more he got closer. The door he come to was locked, and that confused Danny. This room was on the first floor, at the middle of the house. Why would Vlad be experimenting in here? He rolled his eyes, and phased through the door. The insults died on his tongue.

Ten sets of _his_ eyes turned to focus on him. Whoever had been playing with the lights stopped. Bowls upon bowls worth of popcorn were strewn about the room, not that any of the snack actually remained in any of the containers. Twenty boxes of soda lined a table, next to three cakes and about thirty kinds of chips. Pillows and beanbags and blankets galore were everywhere, a huge TV playing some romcom while another was being used for a racing game. The stereo system clicked off. Still, ten Dannys stared at him. He almost gained his composure before he spoke. _Almost_.

"WHY ARE THERE TEN OF ME?!" He shrieked, falling back against the door.

"Excuse you."

"There's ten of _us,_ not ten of _you_."

"Someone's a little self centered."

One glared, "Come on, guys, don't be rude. Knock it off."

"W-wha..." Danny was dumbstruck. Terrified, yet absolutely enraged. He knew what this was—he just wasn't understanding it. Vlad had cloned him, again. They all had his face, his eyes, his _voice_. A few looked a little different, and they were all wearing different things, but it still didn't change the fact that they were _him_. And they didn't seem unstable, which mean that they must have been stabilized...somehow. He spun around, nearly walking face first into the door as he screamed, " **VLADIMIR!** "

"He's not here," One of the Dannys said.

Danny spun back around, "What do you mean, you're all here alone?!"

"Of coarse not, we're here with each other," Another joked, and high-fived the one next to him. The two both had white hair despite being human, the silent wearing thick headphones and the other had an arm in a sling.

Danny shriveled, "Oh my god."

"Stop picking on him, it's not funny."

A Danny with black and white hair split right down the middle grinned, "Yeah, how would you feel if you woke up and found out there's numerous others who look almost exactly like you—oh wait!" He laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world.

A Danny from the side, silent thus far, raised his hands and began twisting them in strange ways. The others unexpectedly quieted down and watched them. They all looked to Danny when he finished, as if expecting an answer. Danny blinked.

"I have no idea what you just did."

A Danny snorted while another rolled their eyes. One of the closer ones shook his head.

"He asked, 'You called dad by his name, this implies you know him. Is that why you are here?'"

"Oh..." Danny said dumbly. Now that the thought about it, he should have recognized the sign language, "No. I'm here because I saw the disturbance that is this...whatever the hell this is," He gestured around with a hand.

All the Dannys glared, "Hey, we don't dis your parties!"

"It's two AM, what are you doing having a party?!"

One waved his hand in the air, "Not often we get the chance to have one, let alone at night."

"Yeah, chill, let us have our fun," Said the split-haired Danny.

Danny glared, jabbing a finger towards the stereo system, "I could hear the music from several hundred feet away! You're gonna get the cops called on you if you don't keep it at a decent volume," Most of them just shrugged.

"Wouldn't be the first time."

"They'll just assume the house is haunted."

"They wouldn't be wrong."

Danny stared, "What do-You've had the police called here before?!"

A Danny engrossed in a handheld game tilted his head a bit, "To our credit, none of the times were intentional."

"So you're here to crash our party. Man, aren't you a bummer."

Danny crossed his arms, "If letting your neighbors actually _get_ _some_ _sleep_ tonight means crashing this party, then yes, I suppose I am."

The white haired Danny with the arm sling raised his brows, amused, "You...do know that dad owns every property on this street, don't you?"

Danny paused. He didn't know that. There wasn't any reason he should have even thought that was a thing. The other Danny's slowly began to smile and two chuckled. Danny curled his hands into a first.

"...Still. The music was too loud," They all snickered and he felt his face flush with embarrassment.

"Let's face it, you were upset you weren't invited, weren't you?" The split haired Danny leaned back on his hands, smiling wide.

"Actually, no, I didn't know any of you existed," Danny denied.

" _Mmhmmm_ ," One of them turned to a table and began riffling through the piles of stuff. He pulled out something and tossed it to Danny, "Catch!"

Danny caught it, his hands fumbling, "What's this?" He turned it over, and realized it was a party hat. His eyes flickered back up to the others in disbelief.

The split-haired Danny pumped his fist into the air, "Welcome to the party, now setting destinations to funky-town and groove-ville."

"That was so bad, Darrow," Said one of the Dannys with black hair, who was perched in a beanie bag focusing on the racing game he was playing, "Or should I say Dork-o."

The split haired—Darrow, apparently—glared, "You wanna fight, dude? Cuz I'll do it. I'll fight you. I'm pumped tonight."

The sign language Danny snapped his fingers, then began to sign when he got some attentions. The same one who translated last time turned to Danny, "He's asking your name."

Danny's stomach plummeted. He really hoped he was wrong about how these ten were named, but since he was dealing with _Vlad_ , his hopes were probably in vain.

He rubbed the back of his head, "Erm...it's...Danny..."

 _3_... _2_... _ **1**_...Almost every face lit up.

"Oh good, you fit," The translator remarked.

Danny groaned, "That's what I was afraid of..."

A Danny, the one who was wearing the bulky headphones, hopped off the pile of blankets. His hair was streaked with both black and white, and as he grabbed Danny's arm, Danny could see his eyes were both blue and green. Danny tensed at the contact, not really wanting to be touched by any of them, but he allowed himself to be pulled across the room.

The clone pulled his headphones off, "Come on, It's not that bad. Want anything to drink? We have pretty much literally all kinds of soda."

He stopped in front of the table, and it really did look like it had all known kinds of soda on it. Danny looked them over, uncomfortable under the clone's expectant gaze.

"Uhhh, diet Pepsi, if you have it?" He answered weakly.

The clone looked at him chidingly, "Now what did I just say about having all kinds of soda, of coarse we have that," He drifted down a few boxes and fish a can out, offering it to Danny.

Danny nodded, taking it, "Thanks..."

He popped the tab of the soda, taking a small sip as he looked around. Most of the others went back to doing what they had been doing before, loud chatter filling the room. It was odd, hearing his own voice disembodied and saying things he wasn't saying. There were slight differences in pitch and tone, but overall, it was still his. Most even had his hairstyle too. He didn't know what to think, all he knew was that he certainly wasn't comfortable being around them. They were all technically him, yet... _ **not**_. It bothered him.

A some point, the music came back. The clone next to Danny had put his headphones back on. Danny wasn't really paying attention to anything in particular, as he was focused on trying to find a way to slip out and go home—and maybe report Vlad to the police to get his ass thrown into a mental institution. He debated on excusing himself to go to the bathroom and just phase out, but that required asking one of them where on was. It was one thing for them to talk to him, another to talk to them.

The door slammed open, the door lock ripped from the wood.

"SOMEONE HAD _BEST_ HAVE A GOOD EXCUSE FOR WHY I WAS CALLED BY POLICE _**THREE**_ TIMES FOR MY LIGHTS BEING FLICKERED ON AND OFF FOR HOURS ON END!" Vlad Masters stalked into the room, brushing off his suit. The air around him cracked and popped with ectoenergy, his eyes trailing red steam. The Clones all tensed as his eyes swept over the abnormally huge mess of the room.

A clone jumped to his feet, "Scatter!"

Vlad snarled, his eyes glazing red. His fingers curled into a fist as several other clones tried to join in the escape attempt. Danny, to his credit, had only ever seen Vlad angrier than he was now once. Vlad raised his hand and thew a blast at the floor, scorching right through the carpet and some of the hard tile underneath.

"DON'T ANY OF YOU EVEN _**DARE**_!" He roared and every Danny froze instantly. Vlad shook his hand, dispersing it of the pink, and jabbed a finger at the floor in front of him, "Get back here, line up!"

The clones obeyed. The ones who had tried to run came walking back with an attitude that reminded him of dogs with their tails between their legs. The few that had remained got up and walked over as well. Danny was about to turn invisible once all of their backs were to him, but a hand wrapped around his upper arm, pulling him over as well.

"H-hey!" He tried to pull away, but the clone forced him into the line up anyway.

Vlad began to scan over every clone. Danny bit bit his lip, knowing that he'd stick out. All of the clones were in their human form—if they even _had_ a ghost form—and he wasn't. Vlad's eyes trailed over all over them, lingering to glare at the few who couldn't withhold their snickers. One jabbed another in the ribs while another gestured to a third down the line behind their backs. Vlad was unimpressed.

"What in the _hell_ were all of you—wait... _why are they're_ _ **elven**_ _of you?!_ " He hissed, eyes locking onto Danny.

The irritable anger was thick enough Danny could have licked it. The clones become abnormally silent, all of them looking his way through the corners of their eyes and a little leaning. Danny felt a knot form in his throat, waiting several agonizing seconds for Vlad to realize it was him, the _real_ Danny. The clone next to him pinched his arm, a silent demand to answer. Danny swallowed, trying to think of an excuse Vlad would buy.

"Uhh...um..I'm...a...duplicate?"

Good job, Fenton. You're an _**A+**_ liar.

Vlad stared, and Danny shrunk a little under his gaze. This was it, Vlad was gonna know it was him. Nothing good could come out of Vlad knowing he knew about the clones, let alone being caught with them. Especially when all of the clones seemed loyal to Vlad; if the elder halfa deemed him an enemy that needed disposing of, there wasn't anything Danny could do. Fighting himself was hard enough when it was just one on one, even if he'd only fought the previous clones and his future self. He wouldn't last against ten, seemingly perfectly stable clones. Danny tense so much that his muscles began to hurt, yet he didn't dare loosen. He needed to be prepared when Vlad snarled and sent a fist into his gut, sending him careening across the room _any_ _minute_ _now_ —

Vlad blinked. Then turned away, shaking his head, "I don't even _care_ right now. You're all grounded. Get to your rooms."

Danny could only gape, dumbfounded.

"Joint or individual?" One of the clones asked. Vlad waved his hand in the air, massaging the bridge of his nose.

"I don't care. I'm _tired_ and not at all in a good mood, so whichever you want, just get there _quickly_ and quietly _!_ "

The clones didn't need telling twice.

They bolted past Vlad, Danny inevitably being dragged along with them. As they ran up the stairs, several clones phased through the walls, effectively answering Danny's question on if they had ghost powers. The clone who had a hold of his arm pulled him into a room at the top of the stairs. Danny stumbled a little, blinking at the new room that was illuminated by the lights being turned on. The floor was white and the walls looked like they used to be before every color of the rainbow was splattered onto it. From floor to ceiling,the walls were streaked and dotted and freckled. Hand prints of every color used were scattered about, far too small to be Vlad's, meaning the clones had done that. The middle of the room was indented downwards, plush mattresses filling where the floor should have been. It was trimmed by pillows, little else besides about seven laptops, four iPods, and nine dressers decorating the vast room.

The rest of the clones returned through the walls, all of them carrying multiple pillows and blankets. They just tossed their bounties into the middle, and flopped in themselves, only the occasional ouch and shove indicating they hit each other.

Danny could only stare, but not for long as the clone holding him 'captive' yanked him off his feet into the mess as well.

He curled against the other shifting bodies around him, scooting into a corner when they all pretty much settled down. The lights shut off suddenly, startling Danny but the clones seemed to have anticipated it. A quiet hum vibrated throughout the room, low yet calming. A clone with white hair formed a little light orb in his hands, bright enough for them all to see the others yet not enough to be overbearing. It was pleasant and soft, and Danny found it didn't hurt to look straight into at all.

All the clones turned to him, and he fidgeted with his fingers to ease his discomfort. One of them just snorted and began shaking in silent laughter.

"A duplicate, _really_?! I can't believe he bought that it was _soooo_ _**bad**_ _!"_

Danny shifted his gaze nervously, "It was all I could think of. I'm really surprised he bought it, I wonder why..."

"Don't question it," Said a clone, then offered him an apologetic smile, "Although, you won't be able to leave now, so sorry."

Danny's head snapped up, "Wait, what?!"

Another clone shrugged, Danny recognized him as Darrow, "He's turned the ghost shield on to this room, so we can't escape. It's his way of grounding us."

"Oh my god my mom's gonna freak when she sees I'm not there later," Danny dropped his head into his hands, dragging them down his face.

"Could be worse, y'know," Darrow remarked, shrugging.

"How?!"

"You could actually be in danger and/or dying?"

Danny went silent and the others waited for him to speak again. One shifted their pillow under their head, the ones beside him shifting to try to get their comfort back. The way they all seemed so interconnected, it weirded Danny out. Dani hadn't been like this. She didn't have any connection to the others clones she knew about. Then again, the ones she knew about were failures, barely humanoid and not at all sentient. So why did these ones seem to treat each other like siblings, not caring how rude they were to each other or how close they got? It boggled Danny's mind, and upset him more than it probably should have. They were parts of him for crying out loud.

"Okay, I've had enough. I want to know who all of you are, and why you exist," Danny said suddenly and ten pairs of shocked eyes focused on him. His resolve quickly died when he realized how horrible that sounded, "Well that sounded...better...in my head."

Thankfully, their gazes softened and a few chuckled. One shrugged, propping his head up on a hand.

"Accident," They responded.

Danny blinked, "An accident. You all...exist...because of an _**accident**_."

"Yeah," The clone who made the light nodded, waving his hand, "Short story short? Poly mares 3 wasn't supposed to be used on nine of us. It was a fluke error of the computer system that negated the command to disconnect those tanks."

Danny blinked again, "...Polymerases 3?"

This time the clone just shrugged, "No idea."

Most of the others did as well. The streaked hair clone spoke up, "Ask dad. We don't pay attention to the science babble."

Danny nodded, and found himself not blaming them. He hardly payed attention to his parents when they talked science babble too. His question about how they existed was only kinda answered, but he didn't know what to think about the fact that Vlad had apparently _not_ intended on making ten of him. He waved his hand, "Okay, I got that part a little. Now _who_ are you all."

The clones groaned, their attitudes deflating. The sign language clone began speaking, and the others grumbled, but seemed to agree with whatever he had said. Everyone looked to the streak-haired clone, clearly expecting him to speak.

"Let's make this as easy as we can. We'll go in alphabetical order," He said, then pointed to the sign language clone, "That's Dai, since you can't understand him. He's mute, no one knows why. He just can't speak. So he speaks with sign language, and he's one of the more sensible of us. Though he's not exactly all sugar cookies and fluff either; he likes to say sarcastic things to people who can't read what he's saying."

Danny raised his brows, "Oh how nice."

He studied the mute clone, Dai. His hair was white and slightly longer than the rest of his 'siblings'. He shared Danny's toxic green eyes, the only differences in his face being the slight crooked nose and thinner cheeks. A light pink crystal bracelet hung loosely around his wrist, and he was dressed in stripped silk pajamas. He offered a small smile and waved once at Danny. Danny nodded in response, raising a few fingers to greet him back.

"He hasn't done that to you though. Yet." The speaker continued, then gestured to himself, "I'm Damir, and I would ask that you not scream into my ears as I'm very sensitive to sounds. That's why I was wearing the headphones earlier. It's my...mutation, you could say."

Damir was certainly odd looking. Besides the streaked zebra hair and dual colored eyes, he had pointed ears, similar to Vlad's ghost half. He had minimal other differences, the largest of which being that he had no freckles. His sleepwear seemed to be just an old t-shirt and shorts, though that was also what he'd been wearing during the party. Damir gestured to another clone, one Danny didn't remember ever speaking up before—he thought. They all looked nearly identical.

The other clone seemed reluctant to speak. He refused to meet Danny's gazed, instead picking at the edge of a blanket with his fingers. With him in particular Danny felt like he was looking in a mirror. Black hair, blue eyes, same exact height, same exact build, seemingly no physical mutations. He was pretty much Danny exactly.

"I'm...Daneil, and I was supposed to be only one to be alive," The clone said shortly, "Enough said."

Well, that explained it. He'd been the 'perfect' one.

Damir furrowed his brows, "That's not like you to be so astute."

Daneil looked up through his bangs, glaring, "I'm not very comfortable right now, okay?"

"Got it," Said another, and Danny decided to let Daneil have his space; he was uncomfortable with him too.

He turned his attention to the new speaker, "Dannon, and I'm all sorts of colorblind. I don't sugar coat things, and they all call me rude. I'm pretty much the voice of reason for these people."

" _Self_ _entitled_ voice of reason," Snapped the clone with the sling, "He also reads braille, if you ever need someone who can."

Dannon shrugged. He was taller than the others, and slightly more muscled. Like Dai, he had white hair, though it was cut short and his eyes were blue. His eyes unnerved Danny, as they lacked pupils and glowed even in the soft light of the bobbing orb above their heads. He seemed rather bored of the conversation, given he was already laying his head down, turned away from the light.

"He's always like that," Damir muttered and Dai nodded in agreement.

The clone with the sling arm raised his good hand, "I'm Danre. And before you ask, yeah, I have a bad arm. I can't feel it, can't move it, nothing. It's a bit of a sore spot. But just because I can't use it doesn't mean I'm any less able. I've stolen a lot of dad's sports stuff because I like it, if you wanted a random fact about me."

"No one mentioned the arm and he's already testy, geez," The split-haired clone rolled his eyes.

Danre, like Dai, had white hair and green eyes, though his eyes lacked a spectral glow to them. His hair was also undercut on the sides, the remaining hair flopping over to the right. It was the right arm that was in the sling, a snug red beaded bracelet on his left. He had shallow bags under his eyes, and his pajamas were a mismatch of patterns. He didn't notice Danny staring at him, to busy with the other clone.

Danre glared at the split-hair, "Don't think I won't hit you."

"Go ahead, I _dare_ you," The split hair turned to Danny, smiling wide, "Name's Darrow, I'm the weird one."

"Understatement," Muttered Dannon.

Darrow snorted, "Yep. I'm the weird one in terms of personality and in appearance, given this hair is all natural. I love dares, and I love doing stupid things more. My downside is that I...uh...kinda have issues controlling my powers. Only sometimes now, though, used to be way worse..."

He rubbed the back of his neck. Darrow had dual colored eyes as well, Danny noticed, though different from Damir in that they were both solid colors. Blue was on the left, green on the right, and they glinted with barely hidden mischievousness. His hair was messily styled into points that mimicked Plasmius', the possible attempt to look cool ending up looking more like a cheep Cruella De Ville re-imagine. He wore a loose tank top and stripped pajama bottoms, and they seemed to have been cut down the center and sown to an inverse other side.

An unnamed clone leaned closer to Danny, whispering, "That's his way of trying to warn you that you may wake up encased in ice."

"Wonderful..." Danny muttered, not at all enjoying that prospect. He'd already done that last week, after he learned of core powers.

The clone who made the light waved a little, "I'm Daumier, and I think I got Dannon's missing visual stuff. I...well, just have a look."

Danny furrowed his brows as the clone began to untie the bandana that covered his forehead. The dark fabric came off, revealing three more eyes. Danny stared as they _**blinked**_ and focused on him, "I can't stand bright light, I always have to wear sunglasses during the day—even inside. I also prefer the use of they/them pronouns, if you wouldn't mind?"

"I'll...try to remember that," Danny nodded, not quite able to pick his jaw off the floor yet.

He couldn't help it, he _stared_ and the eyes _stared_ _**back**_. Daumier was obviously uncomfortable with that, as they averted all of their gaze to their fingers. The eyes were ocean blue, all of them, and held a spectral light in their depths. Their hair was the longest of all the clones, reaching just past their shoulders. It appeared to be layered choppily, creating natural gray tones in the whiteness. Like Dannon, they also seemed to be taller, though they was thinner, more meek. Their pajamas were simple silk and just a dark solid color. Danny quickly muttered his apologies, which Daumier quietly waved off.

Another clone shifted, "Davien, and I have mood problems. Like, not even kidding when I say I'll be laughing one minute then sobbing three minutes later. I don't know why, it's just a thing. I don't like that I do it any more than others do. I also bruise really easily, which sucks since I'm super flexible and like to see how I can twist myself."

Danny looked at the clone, recognising him as the one who spoke earlier. Looking at Davien was like looking at Daneil all over again, and Danny assumed that Davien might've been the second after the prime. He was slightly shorter, though, and had a weird reddened patch over his left cheek. Odd for the clones who had black hair, his eyelashes were white. He confused Danny, though.

"What d you mean by 'super' flexible?" He questioned and all the other clones made 'no' gestures as soon as he started to speak.

Davien smiled and proceeded to bend his elbow in the completely wrong way. The bone pops that sounded from it made it _so_ much worse and Danny felt a little ill as he watched the clone almost lay the lower arm on the forearm completely. He returned his arm to its natural alignment, then bent his wrist back in the same way—only this time he was absolutely able to touch the entire back of his hand onto his arm. Danny had to look away, it was too gross. He noticed a lot of the other clones were doing the same, Dai grimacing. Davien just snickered, resting his chin in his palm.

"That's why people shouldn't ask." Daumier stated, "Daziel, your turn."

"I'm the cripple," All of the clones looked at him, shocked. The clone, Daziel, just raised his brows, "What? It's true. I can't use my legs, mainly cuz my ghost half can't form them. I'm also the midget. But I've got a temper and trust me, my lack of legs don't mean _anything_ if I want hit something."

Dai began to sign and Damir translated, "He likes to pick fights."

Daziel puffed his chest out, indignant, "I do not. I just have no problem ending them once they begin."

"Oh what are you gonna do, run people over with your wheelchair?" Darrow snorted. The reaction was like throwing Caesium into water. Daziel was pushing himself up, his eyes glowing a burning yellow as he snarled at the troublemaker.

"You wanna test that theory?!" He hissed, aggressive. Darrow snickered, snorting loudly.

Danny held his hand up, trying to negate the situation, "No need for any of that..."

Daziel glared at him, but settled back down after a few moments, huffing. His eyes faded to green, his hand carding through his dark tangled, spiked hair. His cheeks and nose were covered in freckles, more so than Danny's were. The tank top he wore was formfitting, which was also true for the pants. A faint spectral aura surrounded his legs, and Danny assumed that that was because he was always prepared to turn them ghostly to move them. True to his word, Daziel was incredibly short, easily just being four foot six. Darrow had mentioned a wheelchair, though Danny hadn't seen one nor did the house appear to be catered to that particular disability. And then Danny kicked himself because _duh_ , flying ghost power.

"Only one more, thank god," Davien remarked, then admitted at Danny's confused look, "We don't really like doing this."

The final clone looked around, his 'siblings' nodding, "My turn? I'm Dmitri, the only one who not have a 'DA' name."

"Dad ran out," Daumier informed.

Danre snorted, "I think he ran out at Daziel's name, what kind of name is that even."

"I will fight you, go ahead, keep dissing my name."

"Anyway, getting back to me, I have...obsessive compulsions, and they make me anxious for seemingly no reason. I can't help it. I take care of the plants and wear these jewelry pieces to try to soothe it all, but it doesn't really help much. Tight spaces bother me, really badly, too," Dmitri said quietly, holding up his hand to show a multiple banded ring before going back to playing with it.

"He's a master at Uno," Darrow added. Dmitri gave him a look.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Darrow just shrugged.

Dmitri, like Daziel, had black hair and green eyes thought Danny just barely saw the latter given how much Dmitri avoided looking at him. His hair was the same length as Danny's, but it was pulled back into a tiny shaggy ponytail. The ends of his long sleeves were picked to threads, and Danny saw why when he went from the ring to the ends, pulling the fibers apart. Daumier gently laid their hands over Dmitri's, and his fingers stilled. Danny looked away, unwilling to make him any more uncomfortable than he already was.

Dai raised his hands and began signing. Daziel was the one who translated, "He says, 'we've told you a bit about ourselves, it's only fair you tell us about yourself.' Quite frankly, I agree."

Danny tensed, an awkward pressure settling into his chest at being the center of attention. A few of the clones noticed and thankfully looked away. Daziel crossed his arms behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. Danny swallowed, finding himself agreeing with the clones on how much this sucked.

"W-well...I'm Danny, and...I don't really know what else to say. Uh...I turned on the ghost portal from the inside and I don't like large machines anymore. I protect the town from the ghosts, and the ghosts from the ghost hunters. I'm failing every class I'm in, my sister tries to psychoanalyze me every night, and Vlad and I are arch enemies," He explained, his voice wavering as several surprised eyes turned towards him. He was never good at public speaking, and he very much considered ten people to be 'public'.

Daziel waved his hand, "Waitwaitwait, back up, you _fight_ ghosts? With what, your bare hands?"

Danny blinked, "...Well, yeah? I mean, sometimes I'll use an ectogun, but only when I have access to one and can't transform. Why, you say that like it's weird."

"It IS weird, and pretty stupid of you," Dannon said.

Danny shrugged, "If I don't fight them, no one will. People would die."

"That's not your responsibility," Danre countered.

"It is. I've made it mine."

Daziel hissed, "You're a child."

"I'm willing and I'm able. That's all that matters."

The clones went silent. The quiet was tense and uneasy, and Danny found himself wanting to hear one of them talk, even if he still found it odd to listen to. None of them did however, they just laid there. The deep breathing of sleep was soon peppering silence from Dannon.

Darrow laid down after a while, "Well, I'm going to sleep. I'm crashing from the soda."

"I am too, these pillows are way too comfy to deny any longer." Daneil agreed, sitting up just long enough to grab a blanket forgotten on the hard floor. The others muttered their quiet goodnights.

Danny looked between the three, "So you all sleep together...in a big pile?"

Dmitri nodded, "Mostly. Sometimes we sleep in our individual rooms. We sleep better together, though."

"What, that gross to you? We've all got identical DNA anyway," Daziel muttered. He turned away from Danny, presumably to go to sleep as well.

Danny shook his head, "Just...never heard of that being a thing," Daumier hummed, while the others remained silent.

Danny could feel the exhaustion from his long day weighing his body down, its claws grabbing for his mind too. The bruises from that nights ghost fights throbbed as he remembered them. Sleep would help them heal at least a little before he had to wake up in a few hours. He cast uneasy glances at the clones around him, and decided he'd try to sleep as far away from them as he could. They might like to sleep with each other, but he was only comfortable with his friends in a shared bed. Completely disregarding the fact that he was in his ghost form, he shifted farther back into the corner. He felt several eyes on his back as he turned away from them, curling up into a tight ball.

"Night, all of you," he whispered, letting his head rest on the soft mattress.

"Night, Danny."

For the life of him, he couldn't tell which one had spoke before his drifted off.

AN: Goodbye friends this chapter killed me. Writing ten different characters at once is incredibly difficult, especially before they're names were revealed. But I did it. I got this fucker done. Now I just have...

….over fifteen more chapters to go _**RIP THIS KILLED THE VOX**_


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